WHY ARE IRANIAN CHILDREN VACCINATED AGAINST SMALLPOX?

Nealz Nuze ^ | 27 June 05 | Neal Boortz

[LSUfan]

Smallpox is an acute, highly contagious and often fatal disease caused by the variola virus. The virus is so dangerous and potentially deadly that one confirmed case of smallpox is considered to be a public health emergency. Oh .. and there is no proven treatment for the disease once a person falls ill. You just administer fluids and antibiotics to handle any secondary infections, and hope that the patent is one of the 70%. The other 30% will die.

In case you don't already know, Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide. The eradication is so complete that we don't even vaccinate people against smallpox any more. In fact, smallpox vaccinations are not currently available to ordinary citizens in the United States any more.

Why bring this all up? Well -- as I said, you can't get a smallpox vaccination in the United States; but apparently you can get vaccinated in Iran. There are reports that young Iranian children traveling outside their country have been vaccinated against smallpox. Why would that be? The smallpox vaccination process is not fun. So why would you go through the trouble of administering a troublesome and difficult vaccination to your child for a disease that has been eradicated around the world?

Do I really need to carry this bit any further? Tell me I don't need to connect the dots. Well .. there is that chance that you've just stumbled into this bit from some reality show website ... so here you go. Iran is a state supporter of terrorism. Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. Iran is providing people and support to the Iraqi insurgency. Iranian mullahs want to see as many Americans die as possible. Even though smallpox has been eradicated, the virus still exists in government laboratories. It is possible that Islamic fascists in Iran have acquired some of the Smallpox virus and are working on plans to use that virus as a weapon against the Western world. That being the case, would it make sense to vaccinate Iranian children who might be traveling to the West?

Just something for you to think about.

[pepsionice]

The bottom line here...is that Smallpox will eventually return to our civilization (through an accident or through a terrorist method). For scientists to sit there and think they eradicated it from the Earth...is a joke. Its still around. And we (maybe not in my generation)...will see a return.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Yes, Cuba and Iran are partners in the manufacture of vaccines.

Take a look at some of the links in these searches:

http://www.google.com/search?q=Cuba+Iran+smallpox&btnG=Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&client=googlet&biw=

http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q=Cuba%20smallpox

[ReignOfError]

In the United States, a limited reserve supply of vaccine that was produced by Wyeth Laboratories, Lancaster, Pa, in the 1970s is in storage. This supply is believed to be sufficient to vaccinate between 6 and 7 million persons.

That article's from 1999. Since then, post-9/11, more stocks of vaccine have been found, and later trials have shown that the vaccines from the '70s could still be effective if diluted 10:1. At least that's the official line; it's possible they're blowing sunshine up our skirts.

[ReignOfError]

The bottom line here...is that Smallpox will eventually return to our civilization (through an accident or through a terrorist method). For scientists to sit there and think they eradicated it from the Earth...is a joke. Its still around. And we (maybe not in my generation)...will see a return.

And your source for the assertion that "it's still around" is ...? The notion that a life form has gone extinct is not an exotic one. Seen a dodo or a mastodon lately? So why not a virus?

But I've also learned from this thread that a superstrain of smallpox broke out in Iran in 1972. It is possible that an Iranian lab has nurtured a smallpox culture for the last 33 years undetected. It's possible -- and therefore it's prudent to be prepared -- but I don't consider it likely.

[Recovering Hermit]

"Smallpox vaccine is made from live vaccinia virus and does not contain variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Vaccinia virus is a member of the orthopox virus family, which includes smallpox (variola), cowpox, monkeypox, gerbilpox, camelpox and others. When inoculated in the superficial layers of the skin, the virus grows and induces an immune reaction that serves to protect against smallpox."

Michael Jackson, Richard Gere, and Saddam Hussein should be concerned.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Since I'm not a doctor, I've wondered then why all the hysteria came a couple years ago when the thought of smallpox weapons in the wrong hands first entered the mainstream. Yes, smallpox is a horrible virus, and yes the stores of the virus in the hands of the "good guys" has mostly been destroyed. But, as you point out, the actual smallpox virus isn't what was used for most vaccinations-- vaccinia (cowpox) virus was. So why the hysteria, and what is keeping major production of vaccinia-based vaccinations from getting underway so that cities may be stocked with the stuff just-in-case?